President’s 2017 New Year’s Message

Happy New Year to all present and future Members of the Caledon Hills Bruce Trail Club!

2017 is a big year! Canada is celebrating it’s 150th birthday and the Bruce Trail Conservancy is starting another phase of it’s 50th Anniversary. And all of us can celebrate another year of enjoying the Niagara Escarpment and all the wonders it offers.

Many people comment to me that it’s amazing that this world-class wilderness exists so close to the largest urban centre in Canada. One minute you’re in a vibrant, exciting city with millions of people, and an hour later you’re in a peaceful, quiet place surrounded by nature with forest, hills, wetlands, birds and animals.

In the latest issue of the Bruce Trail magazine, Beth Gilhespy, BTC CEO wrote about the many things that inspire her including the hundreds of volunteers who support the network of Trails, the reaction of visitors to the Escarpment, and the huge commitment from the many individual donors who support the vision of securing the Trail.

We have many sources of inspiration in the Caledon Hills Club. Since I joined the Board in 2014 I can hardly believe the depth of knowledge, level of commitment, and length of service of the many volunteers. Also impressive are the new volunteers who manage the website, coordinate projects like Bruce Trail Day, the Christmas Tree fundraising sale, and developing our social media. Our student hiking program is another source of inspiration as is a grade 11 student who donated homemade signs for raising funds at the December Potluck. I think the biggest source of inspiration is to imagine that one day the entire end to end Trail will be secure for future generations to appreciate.